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jukebox_csi) wrote2007-09-01 03:38 pm
jukebox_csi) wrote2007-09-01 03:38 pm
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Review Corner: Rising Storm
This is actually the first review I ever wrote a little over a year ago for Boys on Boys on Film. Hmm, I wonder if I would write it differently now?
Rising Storm by Ougi Yuzuha
Publisher: DramaQueen
From the back cover of the manga: Tokyo – Setagaya ward, Seijou. A notable family has built a castle there, and Reona, a college student, has been hired to watch over the stables. Having seen the family’s excessive wealth, he wonders about the master of the house – but the person he meets is nothing like what he expected…While introducing himself to the young master, Reona makes a careless blunder, and Kaisaki-sama is quick to discipline him! Thereafter, every time Reona makes a mistake, the master’s punishments follow swiftly and escalated accordingly! Love, lust and lunacy abound in Ougi sensei’s first manga. Rising Storm is sure to warm your heart and tickle your funny bones! Included are two short stories – A Yokohama Story and Killing Me Tenderly.
Since the manga is made up of three individual, unique stories, it would be best to take them separately. The main story in the book is, of course, the one revolving around the college student and the master. Basically, it is what would be termed in fanfiction as a PWP, meaning little to no plot. If there was one thing I would agree with in the last few words of the back cover description, it would be that lunacy abounds. There were moments within the main story that my lips did twitch slightly into the direction of a smile, but for the most part I was bored with it. I marvel that I kept reading, but being the type that hopes a story will get better as it moves along; I’m a masochist that way. It is ridiculous that the reader is expected to believe the uke in this story is so incredibly naïve that he doesn’t realize all the ‘accidents’ where he is damaging property are being setup by the young master. The final straw would be the elaborate setup of rare, irreplaceable dishes in a domino pattern – standing end to end such that hitting the first will start a chain reaction to topple all the rest. Of course, Reona thinks that the ball placed conveniently in front of his bedroom door so that when he opens the door it will setup the chain reaction…is completely his fault. He takes all the punishments the master sets on him from bondage to spanking and everything those kinks lead to. In a fit, though, he runs away, unable to bear the trouble he is causing Kaisaki-sama with all the things he has broken. But the young master eventually finds the boy, saving him from potential death by rainstorm, and confesses his desire to keep Reona with him always. The fact that he refuses to let the boy go (even refusing initially to let him leave the estate grounds) is not really an issue until the next part of the tale when Reona’s best friend comes looking for the long lost Reona. Somewhere along the way, the reader also learns that Kaisaki-sama is, in fact, the one person that keeps the world from collapsing into chaos. How he does that is never really explained other than to say his every action influences the world. To drive this point home, it is mentioned that during the month he took off to be with Reona initially when first claiming the boy, an entire country was obliterated off the face of the planet due to his absence. The whole story is beyond ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes more than anything. It takes up too much of the book in my opinion, leaving not enough space for the two short stories which are far more entertaining in plot than this one.
The second story revolves around a dentist named Anna and a waiter named Miyuki. Anna is a man without passion. He has no strong feelings for anything or anyone except for a person’s dental hygiene. His motto is ‘he who does not brush his teeth is not human’. All of that changes when he goes to lunch one day with his fiancé and is waited on by Miyuki. He’s attracted to the waiter, but more than that he becomes obsessed with seeing Miyuki’s teeth. While in their presence, Miyuki never opens his mouth enough to show whether his teeth are neglected or not. Anna almost becomes a stalker of the waiter – showing up as he gets off work to give him a toothbrush, inviting him to a free cleaning at the dental center, demanding the waiter show his teeth, standing outside the café with a sign pointing to the dental center. Miyuki takes it all in stride, believing the dentist wants a fling, which shocks the dentist to no end as it wasn’t what he was initially thinking and he refuses to call it a fling. The twist – Miyuki is into big, hairy bear-like men. Irregardless, Anna can not get Miyuki’s mouth out of his mind or his dreams. Before long, it’s obvious he has fallen in love for the first time in his life. Eventually Miyuki decides to make an exception to his rule of never sleeping with a guy that isn’t his type and takes Anna home. The scene between them blows Anna-san’s mind and seals his fate. There is a slight barely angst scene at the restaurant where Anna-san tells Miyuki that he is not getting married (right in front of his fiancé), but all works out in the end. This
short story was quite funny, causing me to chuckle out loud in some parts. The panels where Anna-san is obsessing with signs and giving the toothbrush are chuckle-worthy as the characters take on an almost chibi look. It was just the right length and remained light-hearted and humorous throughout, even at the few points where the characters were obviously in despair.
The final angst-ridden short story was perhaps my favorite in the manga, and the most disappointing. The disappointment comes from the fact that there was so much potential to carry the story further, exploring different aspects and repercussions, yet it ended almost abruptly in a seeming hurry to wrap up the story and keep it within a certain page length. It was actually a pity that it ended so soon and left me feeling strangely unsatisfied. The story revolves around a bodyguard named Kiriyama and his charge by the name of Mio. It is revealed in the beginning that Kiriyama has saved Mio from at least three suspicious life threatening situations and is thus promoted by the boy’s grandfather to be Mio’s personal bodyguard. The grandfather is head of the Ishido family – an old, wealthy family with the ability to command both the political and financial worlds with a single word. Mio is a prodigy that his grandfather dotes on. But rather than being an arrogant spoiled brat, Mio is a sweet and lonely boy that was never allowed any freedom to cultivate friends, and thus remains isolated and surrounded by old men in his grandfather’s service. He is naturally drawn to Kiriyama, who is only a few years older than the boy, not only for his attraction to the bodyguard but also for all the times Kiriyama saved him. Mio loves Kiriyama, telling the bodyguard that it is because he feels safe and because Kiriyama was always there for him. After confessing that to the bodyguard, Mio gives him a very innocent, sweet kiss that takes Kiriyama by surprise. But tragedy befalls the Ishido family as Mio and the bodyguard disappear, seemingly kidnapped for nefarious reasons. In actuality, Kiriyama has kidnapped the boy and has him bound and blindfolded as he relates the tale of his little sister, who was raped and killed at a tender age by Mio’s older brother Reiichi. To add injury to insult, Reiichi was never charged and still lives free because of Mio’s grandfather. Because Mio means more to the grandfather than anything or anyone else in the world, Kiriyama has decided to take revenge against the grandfather by raping and killing Mio the exact same way his sister was. The next few scenes are powerful and violent as Kiriyama sates his need for revenge with the body of the boy. But in the end, he can’t complete the final act of killing Mio as he begins to recall the way the boy treated him and loved him. In the end, he frees Mio who then tells Kiriyama that he knew the bodyguard had instigated all of the previous life threatening disasters in order to maneuver himself into the position of Mio’s private bodyguard. But Mio was so fascinated by Kiriyama that he never told because he wanted to learn more about the handsome bodyguard, and about the person Kiriyama had loved and lost. This story was tragic and beautiful in its drama, ending much too soon as far as I was concerned.
The artwork in Rising Storm is mediocre at best. I’ve definitely seen worse, but I’ve also seen better. Some panels are quite appealing in the way the characters are drawn while others seem awkward, with angular body parts or clumsy body positions. This is most notable in the main story. I will say that Ougi-sensei does a good job of putting some muscles on her men, the characters sometimes sporting six-pack abs and looking like men. There is nothing appealing when the male characters in a boy love manga are drawn so effeminate that they might as well wear a dress and call themselves woman. And DQ does a good job in not over-censoring the sex scenes. There’s no blurring of naughty bits here. The details are rich enough that in several panels it is obvious the seme is wearing a condom, which is a responsible thing to represent in any drawn sexual act.
If you are an avid collector of as many yaoi titles being released in English as possible in order to support the growing industry, then this may be one to add to your collection. If, however, you are on a tight budget and have to scrutinize the titles that you collect, there may be others out there more worthy of your purchase than this one. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read the manga – if nothing else the two short stories made it worth the cost to me. But, if I found myself needing to relinquish any books in my collection for the sake of space or budget, this one would probably be among the first without any guilt on my part.
Rising Storm by Ougi Yuzuha
Publisher: DramaQueen
From the back cover of the manga: Tokyo – Setagaya ward, Seijou. A notable family has built a castle there, and Reona, a college student, has been hired to watch over the stables. Having seen the family’s excessive wealth, he wonders about the master of the house – but the person he meets is nothing like what he expected…While introducing himself to the young master, Reona makes a careless blunder, and Kaisaki-sama is quick to discipline him! Thereafter, every time Reona makes a mistake, the master’s punishments follow swiftly and escalated accordingly! Love, lust and lunacy abound in Ougi sensei’s first manga. Rising Storm is sure to warm your heart and tickle your funny bones! Included are two short stories – A Yokohama Story and Killing Me Tenderly.
Since the manga is made up of three individual, unique stories, it would be best to take them separately. The main story in the book is, of course, the one revolving around the college student and the master. Basically, it is what would be termed in fanfiction as a PWP, meaning little to no plot. If there was one thing I would agree with in the last few words of the back cover description, it would be that lunacy abounds. There were moments within the main story that my lips did twitch slightly into the direction of a smile, but for the most part I was bored with it. I marvel that I kept reading, but being the type that hopes a story will get better as it moves along; I’m a masochist that way. It is ridiculous that the reader is expected to believe the uke in this story is so incredibly naïve that he doesn’t realize all the ‘accidents’ where he is damaging property are being setup by the young master. The final straw would be the elaborate setup of rare, irreplaceable dishes in a domino pattern – standing end to end such that hitting the first will start a chain reaction to topple all the rest. Of course, Reona thinks that the ball placed conveniently in front of his bedroom door so that when he opens the door it will setup the chain reaction…is completely his fault. He takes all the punishments the master sets on him from bondage to spanking and everything those kinks lead to. In a fit, though, he runs away, unable to bear the trouble he is causing Kaisaki-sama with all the things he has broken. But the young master eventually finds the boy, saving him from potential death by rainstorm, and confesses his desire to keep Reona with him always. The fact that he refuses to let the boy go (even refusing initially to let him leave the estate grounds) is not really an issue until the next part of the tale when Reona’s best friend comes looking for the long lost Reona. Somewhere along the way, the reader also learns that Kaisaki-sama is, in fact, the one person that keeps the world from collapsing into chaos. How he does that is never really explained other than to say his every action influences the world. To drive this point home, it is mentioned that during the month he took off to be with Reona initially when first claiming the boy, an entire country was obliterated off the face of the planet due to his absence. The whole story is beyond ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes more than anything. It takes up too much of the book in my opinion, leaving not enough space for the two short stories which are far more entertaining in plot than this one.
The second story revolves around a dentist named Anna and a waiter named Miyuki. Anna is a man without passion. He has no strong feelings for anything or anyone except for a person’s dental hygiene. His motto is ‘he who does not brush his teeth is not human’. All of that changes when he goes to lunch one day with his fiancé and is waited on by Miyuki. He’s attracted to the waiter, but more than that he becomes obsessed with seeing Miyuki’s teeth. While in their presence, Miyuki never opens his mouth enough to show whether his teeth are neglected or not. Anna almost becomes a stalker of the waiter – showing up as he gets off work to give him a toothbrush, inviting him to a free cleaning at the dental center, demanding the waiter show his teeth, standing outside the café with a sign pointing to the dental center. Miyuki takes it all in stride, believing the dentist wants a fling, which shocks the dentist to no end as it wasn’t what he was initially thinking and he refuses to call it a fling. The twist – Miyuki is into big, hairy bear-like men. Irregardless, Anna can not get Miyuki’s mouth out of his mind or his dreams. Before long, it’s obvious he has fallen in love for the first time in his life. Eventually Miyuki decides to make an exception to his rule of never sleeping with a guy that isn’t his type and takes Anna home. The scene between them blows Anna-san’s mind and seals his fate. There is a slight barely angst scene at the restaurant where Anna-san tells Miyuki that he is not getting married (right in front of his fiancé), but all works out in the end. This
short story was quite funny, causing me to chuckle out loud in some parts. The panels where Anna-san is obsessing with signs and giving the toothbrush are chuckle-worthy as the characters take on an almost chibi look. It was just the right length and remained light-hearted and humorous throughout, even at the few points where the characters were obviously in despair.
The final angst-ridden short story was perhaps my favorite in the manga, and the most disappointing. The disappointment comes from the fact that there was so much potential to carry the story further, exploring different aspects and repercussions, yet it ended almost abruptly in a seeming hurry to wrap up the story and keep it within a certain page length. It was actually a pity that it ended so soon and left me feeling strangely unsatisfied. The story revolves around a bodyguard named Kiriyama and his charge by the name of Mio. It is revealed in the beginning that Kiriyama has saved Mio from at least three suspicious life threatening situations and is thus promoted by the boy’s grandfather to be Mio’s personal bodyguard. The grandfather is head of the Ishido family – an old, wealthy family with the ability to command both the political and financial worlds with a single word. Mio is a prodigy that his grandfather dotes on. But rather than being an arrogant spoiled brat, Mio is a sweet and lonely boy that was never allowed any freedom to cultivate friends, and thus remains isolated and surrounded by old men in his grandfather’s service. He is naturally drawn to Kiriyama, who is only a few years older than the boy, not only for his attraction to the bodyguard but also for all the times Kiriyama saved him. Mio loves Kiriyama, telling the bodyguard that it is because he feels safe and because Kiriyama was always there for him. After confessing that to the bodyguard, Mio gives him a very innocent, sweet kiss that takes Kiriyama by surprise. But tragedy befalls the Ishido family as Mio and the bodyguard disappear, seemingly kidnapped for nefarious reasons. In actuality, Kiriyama has kidnapped the boy and has him bound and blindfolded as he relates the tale of his little sister, who was raped and killed at a tender age by Mio’s older brother Reiichi. To add injury to insult, Reiichi was never charged and still lives free because of Mio’s grandfather. Because Mio means more to the grandfather than anything or anyone else in the world, Kiriyama has decided to take revenge against the grandfather by raping and killing Mio the exact same way his sister was. The next few scenes are powerful and violent as Kiriyama sates his need for revenge with the body of the boy. But in the end, he can’t complete the final act of killing Mio as he begins to recall the way the boy treated him and loved him. In the end, he frees Mio who then tells Kiriyama that he knew the bodyguard had instigated all of the previous life threatening disasters in order to maneuver himself into the position of Mio’s private bodyguard. But Mio was so fascinated by Kiriyama that he never told because he wanted to learn more about the handsome bodyguard, and about the person Kiriyama had loved and lost. This story was tragic and beautiful in its drama, ending much too soon as far as I was concerned.
The artwork in Rising Storm is mediocre at best. I’ve definitely seen worse, but I’ve also seen better. Some panels are quite appealing in the way the characters are drawn while others seem awkward, with angular body parts or clumsy body positions. This is most notable in the main story. I will say that Ougi-sensei does a good job of putting some muscles on her men, the characters sometimes sporting six-pack abs and looking like men. There is nothing appealing when the male characters in a boy love manga are drawn so effeminate that they might as well wear a dress and call themselves woman. And DQ does a good job in not over-censoring the sex scenes. There’s no blurring of naughty bits here. The details are rich enough that in several panels it is obvious the seme is wearing a condom, which is a responsible thing to represent in any drawn sexual act.
If you are an avid collector of as many yaoi titles being released in English as possible in order to support the growing industry, then this may be one to add to your collection. If, however, you are on a tight budget and have to scrutinize the titles that you collect, there may be others out there more worthy of your purchase than this one. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read the manga – if nothing else the two short stories made it worth the cost to me. But, if I found myself needing to relinquish any books in my collection for the sake of space or budget, this one would probably be among the first without any guilt on my part.